 |
|
Delivering Difficult News
Following are some suggestions for delivering difficult news and initiation a discussion of hospice care.
- Choose a private area where there will be no interruptions. An unhurried presence will show more care and concern.
- Sit down with the patient, family, and caregivers. Try to avoid the patient being alone to receive difficult news.
- Use plain language to offer an overview of the situation, the diagnosis, and its implications. Make no assumptions about what the patient understands.
- Be prepared to repeat information several times if necessary. Allow time to recognize the patient's emotional reaction.
- Find out and address specific concerns of the patient, family and caregivers.
- Without overwhelming the patient and family provide options such as hospice and to the extent possible, offer a general estimate of length of survival.
(Creagan, 1994 and Faulkner, 1994)
|
